Maharashtra to Establish India's First AI-Powered Bird Sanctuary

#GS-3 #Environment #Biodiversity #Wildlife #Science & Technology #Artificial Intelligence #Current Events #National

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Maharashtra has approved the development of an **₹45-crore** Eco-Nature Park at the **Thane Creek Flamingo Sanctuary**.
This new project will feature India's very first **Artificial Intelligence (AI)** powered bird detection and monitoring centre.

The sanctuary will install **AI-based cameras** and monitoring systems to identify various bird species, monitor migration patterns, and gather scientific data.
Automated image and sound recognition tools will analyze bird activities across a **1.5-kilometre** stretch of the park.

Located between Mumbai and Navi Mumbai along Thane Creek, this habitat was declared a wildlife sanctuary in **2015**.
It holds the distinction of being India's first dedicated flamingo sanctuary.
This coastal wetland ecosystem supports thousands of flamingos and more than **200 bird species**, including greater flamingos, lesser flamingos, herons, egrets, shorebirds, and kingfishers.
The sanctuary serves as a crucial stopover on the **Central Asian Flyway**, an important migratory pathway linking Europe, Central Asia, and the Indian subcontinent.

Flamingos are tall water birds featuring long S-shaped necks and thin stick-like legs.
They are highly social creatures that form large flocks in shallow eutrophic waters like saline lagoons, saltpans, and alkaline lakes.
Out of the **6 species** of flamingos found in tropical and subtropical regions worldwide, only **2 species** are native to India: the **Greater Flamingo** and **Lesser Flamingo**.
The other four global species are the **Chilean Flamingo**, **American Flamingo**, **Andean Flamingo**, and **James's Flamingo**.
Their diet consists mainly of algae, molluscs, and crustaceans, with **carotenoid pigments** from their food giving their feathers colors ranging from white to pink and orange.
Flamingos depend on shallow wetlands, mudflats, and coastal lagoons for feeding and breeding, but face threats like habitat degradation, pollution, coastal development, human disturbance, and changing water quality.